Objective existence of hells and heavens in Buddhist view

The Sutra of Great Liberation L37 A seven-day retreat method to confess and eliminate negative karma

In this teaching on the Sutra of Great Liberation, Khenpo Sodargye provides a detailed and sobering exposition of the Avici Hell, as explained by the Buddha to Manjusri Bodhisattva. The lesson describes the harrowing spatial dimensions, the terrifying copper dogs, hell wardens, and relentless torments of boiling iron and sword forests. Khenpo emphasizes how easily ordinary beings create negative karma—such as killing animals for food, misusing offerings, breaking monastic precepts, or slandering the Mahayana Dharma—leading inevitably to rapid descent into these excruciating states. He warns that the suffering in Avici and the subsequent eighteen lesser hells far exceeds any worldly pain. However, there is hope: through sincere repentance, maintaining pure precepts, and contemplating the Buddha's supreme qualities and various profound Samadhis, practitioners can purify even the darkest karma. This session is a profound reminder to revere the law of cause and effect and to cherish the opportunity for spiritual purification.